Chisholm Day 2018: The 50th Anniversary Celebration of the First Black Woman Elected to Congress

The Chisholm Project celebrates Chisholm Day every year at Brooklyn College. This year, we are expanding our schedule of events in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Shirley Chisholm's election to Congress.
As the headline event for the 50th Anniversary Celebration, award-winning poet and Civil Rights activist Sonia Sanchez will speak at length on on the Congresswoman's life and achievements in the context of the Black Freedom Movement. Her conversation with Chisholm Project Director Zinga A. Fraser, PhD will also include reflections on her own activism and art during oppressive political times. The dialogue will take place at 2:15 p.m. in Woody Tanger Auditorium, which is located on the first floor of the Brooklyn College Library.
The symposium will also include a panel discussion entitled, “The State of Black Women’s Politics.” Assembled for the roundtable will be some of the eminent black women scholars in the field of political science, as well as one of New York’s most influential grassroots strategists for social justice. Our panelists are:

Zinga A. Fraser, who is a Professor of Africana Studies and Women and Gender Studies at CUNY Brooklyn College, will moderate the panel.

Together, these strategists and scholars will delve into the promise and perils that face black women in 2018 and beyond as they follow in Chisholm’s footsteps as catalysts for change in the political system and broader society. They will explore role of transformative leaders like Chisholm as well as everyday people in remaking democracy. The panel discussion will take place at 11 a.m. in the Gold Room on the sixth floor of the Brooklyn College Student Center.
***The Chisholm Day 2018 celebration is proudly co-sponsored by the WGST Program at Brooklyn College, the Africana Studies Department at Brooklyn College and the Women of Color at Brooklyn College.